Education the Future of America

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Education the Future of America REPORT BRIEF THE FUTURE OF UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION THE FUTURE OF AMERICA Commission on the Future of Undergraduate Education THE FUTURE OF UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION, THE FUTURE OF AMERICA REPORT BRIEF Publications of the Commission on the Future of Undergraduate Education A Primer on the College Student Journey (American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2016) The Complex Universe of Alternative Postsecondary Credentials and Pathways, Jessie Brown and Martin Kurzweil, Ithaka S+R (American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2017) Undergraduate Financial Aid in the United States, Judith Scott Clayton (American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2017) The Economic Impact of Increasing College Completion, Sophia Koropeckyj, Chris Lafakis, and Adam Ozimek, Moody’s Analytics (American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2017) Policies and Practices to Support Undergraduate Teaching Improvement, Aaron M. Pallas, Anna Neumann, and Corbin M. Campbell (American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2017) The Future of Undergraduate Education, The Future of America (American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2017) COMMISSION ON THE FUTURE OF UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION REPORT BRIEF THE FUTURE OF UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION THE FUTURE OF AMERICA american academy of arts & sciences Cambridge, Massachusetts © 2017 by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. All rights reserved. isbn: 0-87724-119-8 This publication is available online at https://www.amacad.org/cfue. The views expressed in this publication are those held by the contributors and are not necessarily those of the Officers and Members of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Please direct inquiries to: American Academy of Arts & Sciences 136 Irving Street Cambridge, ma 02138 Telephone: 617-576-5000 Fax: 617-576-5050 Email: [email protected] Web: www.amacad.org CONTENTS Acknowledgments vii Introduction 1 Priority One Recommendations Strengthen the Student Educational Experience 8 Priority Two Recommendations Increase Completion and Reduce Inequities 12 Priority Three Recommendations Control Costs and Increase Affordability 16 Considerations on the Further Future 21 Conclusion 23 Endnotes 25 Appendix A Commission Members, Staff, and Funder 26 Appendix B Groups and Individuals Consulted 27 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The Future of Undergraduate Education, The Future of America is published at a critical moment in our nation’s history, when so many long-standing assumptions about who we are as a people, and where we are headed, have been called into question. For over a century, we have pursued grand ambitions—groundbreaking scientific discoveries, life-changing technological advances, hard-won social change—and emerged ever stronger, if still imperfect, from our struggles. In recent years, however, we appear to have lost some of that motivating enthusiasm, the optimism that has always lifted us as a people. As we grapple with persistent social inequalities, widening political divisions, prolonged international conflict, and intensifying environmental challenges, we often seem more concerned with the limits of our present capabilities than in the realization of our dreams. If we are to regain our momentum, as we have after so many other challenging moments in our past, we will have to find new ways to channel our inexhaustible creativity, restore a measure of civility to the national discourse, and bridge our differences. In short, we will have to recommit to the promise of education—to study the lessons of the past, analyze the requirements of the present, and imagine the innovations that will brighten our future. Education is not the solution to every problem, but it is often the best tool we have at our disposal, and there is good reason to believe it has been the primary source of our greatest achievements over the past century. This report offers practical and actionable recommendations to improve the undergraduate expe- rience. But in its practicality, it is motivated by the highest ideals: faith that every person, from every background, can succeed in America when given the proper training and preparation; con- fidence that our existing institutions of higher education can and will evolve to meet the needs of today’s and future students; and an unwavering commitment to the free exchange of ideas as the basis of a creative, productive, and democratic society. As stated in the conclusion of this report, “Progress is not guaranteed, and good things will happen only with sustained effort, but if we can sustain focus on the work, combining patience with urgency, we can, through undergraduate education, make great advances as individuals and as a nation.” The Commission on the Future of Undergraduate Education, which authored this report, was created in 2015 by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in response to a suggestion from Dr. Vartan Gregorian, president of Carnegie Corporation of New York. Dr. Gregorian observed that the context and expectations for American undergraduate education had changed dramatically over the past few decades, as our colleges and universities opened their doors to new populations of students (young and old, traditional and nontraditional, immigrant and international) and that it was time for a new study to examine the student educational journey. He therefore asked the American Academy to examine the current state of American undergraduate education, project the nation’s short-term and long-term educational needs, and offer recommendations for strengthening all aspects of undergrad- uate education. We are grateful for his encouragement and for the support of Carnegie Corporation. THE FUTURE OF UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION, THE FUTURE OF AMERICA vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We are also very fortunate to have had the leadership of our distinguished cochairs, Michael McPherson, president emeritus of the Spencer Foundation, and Roger Ferguson, president and chief executive officer oftiaa . Their rigorous approach to the task, generosity of spirit, and deep knowledge of higher education have been invaluable to this effort. Thanks as well to all the Com- mission members (see Appendix A for a complete list), whose dedication and creativity enriched this effort and who modeled the kind of civil discourse and consensus-building that is, itself, one of the primary goals of undergraduate education. In preparation for this final report, they also published several occasional papers that elaborate many of the themes delineated in the pages that follow: A Primer on the College Student Journey, The Complex Universe of Alternative Postsec- ondary Credentials and Pathways, Undergraduate Financial Aid in the United States, Policies and Practices to Support Undergraduate Teaching Improvement, and The Economic Impact of Increasing College Completion. All of these publications are now available at www.amacad.org/cfue. Over a two-year period, the Commission sought advice from a wide range of experts and organi- zations, all listed in Appendix B. We are grateful to all of them for their insights and suggestions. We also thank the following individuals for their time and counsel: David Autor, Larry Bacow, Cynthia Barnhart, Christopher Bishop, Derek Bok, Phil Bredesen, Louise Bryson, Mary Sue Cole- man, Ron Daniel, Michael Dennin, Nicholas Dirks, Robert Haas, Dale Jorgenson, Jerry Kagan, Nan Keohane, Raynard Kington, Richard Light, Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, Martin Lipton, Stan Litow, Tony Marx, David Oxtoby, Robert Pozen, David Pritchard, Virginia Sapiro, Alfred Spector, Jerry Speyer, and Mitchell Stevens. Thanks as well to the members of the Academy’s Board of Directors, Council, and Trust for their leadership, advice, and support for this project, and to the Academy staff who ably served this Commission and prepared this report: Francesca Purcell, Eliza Berg, John Tessitore, Phyllis Bendell, Alison Franklin, Heather Mawhiney, Scott Raymond, and Peter Walton; and consultants Lara Couturier and Richard Kazis. This report is the culmination of a long process of research and deliberation, but it is only the beginning of the effort to strengthen undergraduate education in America. We will need many willing partners to help advance our recommendations. We look forward to working with you, and to hearing your thoughts about this report, in the months and years ahead. Jonathan F. Fanton President American Academy of Arts and Sciences viii Commission on the Future of Undergraduate Education INTRODUCTION Our nation’s effort over two centuries to pro- challenge of quantity in American undergrad- vide education to everyone who lives and works uate education, of enrolling as many students within the United States is an expression of a as possible, is increasingly a challenge of educa- core belief, one that has survived a long history tional quality—of making sure that all students of challenges: that all people, through learning, receive the education they need to succeed, can achieve higher goals for themselves and for that they are able to complete the studies they society as a whole. begin, and that they can do all of this afford- ably, without mortgaging the very future they Progress toward universal education in the seek to improve. The breadth and diversity of United States has been slow and difficult, but today’s undergraduate population represent a the trend over time has been toward greater great national achievement, but only if we can access and greater opportunity for more peo- ensure that all students receive the rigorous ple of different regions and backgrounds. In the knowledge and preparation they seek when they nineteenth
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